Caribbean Contesting Consortium Rental Cars

General

For stays of two or more weeks, CCC is recommending use of rental cars from a small private company, Kik's Cars. Click here for a photo of W0CG (on the left), and Mr. Kik at his home/rental office. Dirk Kik operates a small rental business out of his home with excellent rates and vehicles. There is no charge for additional drivers, and insurance (except for a $300 deductible) is included in the rates. Please see http://www.kikscars.com . W0CG rented a nearly new Toyota HiLux pickup truck in Nov-Dec 2003 for five weeks and was completely satisfied. See the rental procedure below. For stays shorter then two weeks, it's better to use the standard companies: Hertz, Avis, Budget, and National. BOOK YOU RESERVATION ON-LINE with these companies. Don't call the office on the island to make reservations or your rate is likely to be much higher. The airport identifier at Curacao is "CUR."

Kik's Cars Procedures

1. Call or E-Mail Dirk at 011.599.9.767.4166 or dkik@kikscars.com and ask about a reservation for a car or a truck for your dates of interest. Mention "Geoff Howard" and the amateur radio club at Coral Cliff.

2. Upon arrival at the airport, take a taxi to Dirk's house at Kaya Isaac #7, Abrahamsz, which is about 25 minutes east of the airport. We recommend that you pre-arrange a taxi by E-mailing our friend Mike at bigmicke@uts.blackberry.com   about three days before you arrive. Give him your arrival time and flight and let him know you are going to Kik's Cars. He will acknowledge your request very quickly, often in less than two minutes. Mike has a beautiful GMC Savana van. It's $40 to go to Kik's from the airport. Dirk will pay half of your fare when you arrive at his house. He'll do the minimal paperwork quickly and you'll be on your way. 

3. Return the car to Kik's on your departure day, pay for the rental, and he will order you a cab to the airport, again paying half the cab fare. 

Other Commercial Rental Car Companies

Curacao's Hato International Airport has all of the standard U.S. rental franchises: Hertz, Avis, Budget, National. I have rented from Avis and Budget, and have had good luck with them, but we prefer Budget because they have the fastest desk service at the airport. Click here for Budget's on-island web site. 

Prices

Rental cars on Curacao are cheap. In the off season (summer and fall) I have gotten weekly sub-compact unlimited mileage rates ranging between $127/week to $220/week. In the winter rates are higher -- about $340/week for a compact. There are hefty taxes on top of those rates, but it is still very inexpensive compared to the rest of the Caribbean.

Fuel Prices

Gasoline is about $5.75/gallon and diesel about $4.50. Prices are set by the government, so there is no price competition. 

Making a Reservation

Do not call Curacao to book with a rental car company (except Kik's Cars.) You'll get much lower rates by booking from the U.S. I book on-line with Avis or Budget using Orbitz. The airport identifier at Curacao is "CUR." Click here for a sample confirmed car reservation.

Arrival and Departure Guidance

To get to the rental car desks, exit the terminal, turn right onto the sidewalk, and go past the fountain on your right, past the MCB bank (photo) on the right, and into the side door of the old terminal. The rental car desks will be about 20 meters inside on the right side. Click here for photo. Be patient -- the clerks do not understand "fast," and it can take 30 minutes to get your contract settled. When you are finished, they will guide you out to the rental car lots in front of the building. On return, just follow the signs into the "Rental Car Return" area. 

Insurance

Be careful about the insurance. If you have a Visa Gold or similar card and you use it to rent the car, the card probably includes full renter insurance. I have an American Airlines AAdvantage Gold Visa, and the insurance with the credit card is good in Curacao, and works. I had to make a $1000 claim once and the credit card insurance card carrier paid it, after much bureaucratic hassle. But, for your credit card insurance to be in force, you must DECLINE all additional insurance coverages on your rental contract, and carefully initial all of the "Declines" boxes on the contract.

Read the rules carefully about your credit card's rental car insurance coverage.